ARTNES
(Arthurian Never Ending Story)
1. INTRODUCTION
This is an uberNES based on ancient and Dark-Age Britain, when the legendary King Arthur ruled. Its a story of knights and castles, war and peace, loyalty and betrayal.
Many thanks to the folks who helped develop the AMNES/AGNES ideas and those who took part in SIMPLENES and UKNES for their inspiration!
2. MAP, TIME PERIOD, TECH LEVEL, TIME SCALE
The map shows ancient Southern Britain from Dover and Cornwall to Galloway and Northumberland. It is divided into Realms, land areas bordered by thick dark lines, and Seas, blue ocean areas bordered by thin dark lines. Realms are referred to on the map by their specifc name: the Realm of Wiltshire is called simply Wiltshire.
The time period is the early 900s when Arthur supposedly was king of Britain. Since the NES attempts to replicate a small slice of history - the lifespan of a single man - technology plays no part in this NES. For your victories you will have to rely on clever diplomacy and overbearing strength.
Again, because of the short time period, each turn represents a year. The game starts in 900 AD and moves by one year each turn.
3. JOINING THE NES
Before the start of the NES, players may pick their nations by picking a start Realm and naming their nation. For example, one player may decide to call himself King Pellinore and choose Warwick as his starting Realm. Here is a list of names of kings from the period, purloined from Mark Twains Connecticut Yankee. King Arthur, King Lot, King Marsil, King Labor, King Pellinore, King Bagdemagus, King Logris, King Melodias. Feel free to make up another name if you wish.
When four or more players have joined the NES, the story will begin. Thereafter, new storytellers may join by claiming any unclaimed Realm. When all Realms have been claimed, new players must PM me to join and if I agree they can claim a suddenly rebelling Realm.
4. GOAL OF THE NES
Have fun! If you want your empire to survive, however, its a good idea to get lots of Realms under your belt, either by claiming them or by conquering other weak kings too foolish to protect their dominions. Another possible goal is making your people the happiest in Britain, thus earning you an appropriate subtitle like King Logris the Just or King Logris the Kind.
5. MECHANICS OF THE NES
This is a turn based NES making it resemble a board game in some respects. This makes realistic simulation easier and lowers the book-keeping tasks for your hard-working moderator (yours truly).
Basically, on each turn including the start of the game Ill post a map showing the Realms of each King in the game. Ill also include the Happiness Rating of each King, show how many armies and how much money they have, and post a few headlines showing recent news.
Then players submit their orders to me by Private Messaging. These are the basic nitty-gritty running the realm sort of thing. They show troop movements and how much money you, the King, are devoting to keeping your people happy.
Thats it! Remember, in between map postings you can carry on diplomacy, secret deals, and so on with your fellow players. Plotting is encouraged because one nation is usually too weak to conquer another one-on-one.
6. START OF THE GAME
When the game begins I will post the first map for 900 AD. On the first map each player controls one Realm and has no armies. Each player has a bit of money depending on which Realm they started with (its a good idea to start in high-paying Realms).
7. MAP POSTING and the NITTY GRITTY parts
On each map, as already stated, your Nation (all your Realms together) are colored your color to indicate your ownership.
Now its time to explain the Happiness Rating. It is a simple scale running from one to ten showing how much the peasants like you. Based on your actions last turn, and upon how much of your money you devoted to Jesters (to keep your people happy), your rating may range anywhere from one to ten. At the start of the game your rating is 5. The rating system is arbitrary but devoting more money to Jesters WILL make your rating higher. War will make it lower. Larger Nations with more Realms will have lower ratings generally. If your rating is significantly lower than one of your neighbors (example: your rating is 3, his is 7) then one or more of your Realms may join his Nation by rebellion (at the whim of the moderator). So, keep the populace happy!
The glorious King with the highest rating (no King in the event of a tie) may choose a title to exalt his personage. Example, Logris the Wise/Kind/Just/Fair, or any other title: be creative! This is just for fun. However, for that turn all other nations must adress him by his title! No other King is allowed a title that turn.
In addition to the map and the Happiness Ratings, the moderator post will show each Kings Treasury. The Treasury is an intangible (cant be conquered) and it shows how much money (Gold) you have (12 Gold, 2 Gold, etc). Each turn, money you didnt spend stays in your Treasury. In addition, if any other Nation has agreed to pay tribute to you it loses Gold and you gain it.
However, the principle method of gaining Gold is this: each Realm has a number on it from 1 to 5 indicating its productivity. Each turn, the total moeny generated by this is added to your Treasury.
Example: You had 5 Gold left over from last turn. Another nation has agreed to pay 3 Gold in tribute to you. You have one 5 Realm, two 3 Realms, and one 4 Realm. Thus, your total Treasury this turn is (5+3+5+3+3+4) 23 Gold.
Finally, the map shows your troop positions, with a square for each Castle, a triangle for each Knight, and a rectangle for each Galley you own.
8. THE RULES OF DIPLOMACY
Actually, there arent any. You can make any sort of deal you like. However, if you agree to a tribute of some sort you MUST BOTH PM it to me in your orders, otherwise Ill ignore it. (Example, Player 1 says in his orders Im giving 2 Gold to Player 2, Player 2 says Im receiving 2 Gold from Player 1, and then next turn the Gold will be taken away/added to your Treasuries - you cant use it on this turn yet!).
Aside from that, you may keep deals as secret as you like. If your armies are attacking in unison, its a good idea to say youre co-operating in your PM. Any sort of deal is possible, and you can exchange any sort of information you like.
You may ACCUSE any Nation of doing things like oppressing its people (like the Netherlands in UKNES) or spying, but the FACTS come from me after I investigate, and they are final.
9. HOW TO SUBMIT ORDERS
Please submit orders with promptness to keep the game running smoothly.
Your orders should include the following info:
1. Your Treasury and tribute agreements
2. Your purchases this turn
3. Your army movements this turn
4. Your Jesters this turn
9.1 PURCHASES
You may buy a Castle in a Realm you control, costing you 7 Gold (only one Castle per Realm). You may also buy Knights at 4 Gold each (no limit) and Galleys also at 4 Gold each (no limit). Please tell me which Realm each unit is starting in. Knights may only start on land. Galleys may only start on a coastal Realm like Cornwall.
Clarification: Warwick is a coastal Realm. Powys is not.
Example of the first 2 parts of an Order:
I have 27 Gold. I am not paying or receiving tribute this turn.
I buy: 1 Castle in Warwick, 3 Knights in Warwick and 1 Knight in Gwent, 1 Galley in Gwent for a total of 27 Gold and no Gold left over.
9.2 ARMY MOVEMENTS
Castles are immobile, of course!
A Knight may move up to two Realms but must stop if it reaches a neutral or enemy Realm.
A Galley may move one space on Sea, or may also move one on any coastal Realm. However, it cant move across land. A Galley may move from the North Sea to Northumberland, or from Northumberland to Tyne, but NOT from Northumberland to Galloway or from Tyne to South Cumbria.
A Knight may use its WHOLE move to jump on board a Galley if that Galley stays still (not moving), and then unload on any other coastal Realm. For example, if a Galley rests in the Danish Sea, a Knight may move from Norfolk to Kent. However, only one Galley-jump a turn! Even if there were Galleys resting in the Danish Sea and the East Channel, a Knight could NOT move from Norfolk to Sussex.
Theres no limit to the number of Knights that can jump with one Galley.
Clarification: Humberside, Kent, Sussex, Cornwall, Dyfed, and Lancashire each border 2 Seas each.
Example of the 3rd part of an Order:
3 Knights in Humberside move to Kent by Galley.
Galley in the Danish Sea stays put.
Galley in East Channel moves to Danish Sea.
4 Knights in Norfolk move 2 to Nottingham and 2 to Midlands.
9.3 JESTERS
If theres money left over you may choose to spend it on Jesters. Every two Jesters is worth about one point on the Happiness Meter. Jesters cost 3 Gold each and last for one turn.
Example of the 4th part of an Order:
Of the 12 Gold left over, I choose to hire 3 Jesters for 9 Gold, leaving 3 for next turn.
10. RESULTS OF ORDERS
On the next map you will be shown results of your orders. If you paid or received tribute the money changes hands now. Your new armies are shown on the board and your moves are shown as well.
Finally, combat is resolved. If any of your troops entered a neutral Realm, that Realm becomes part of your Nation. If two or more Nations entered a neutral Realm at the same time, the Realm goes to the side with more Knights, and the other sides move fails (they stay in their starting Realm). If theres a tie, both players bounce back. If the two nations are at war, then a battle happens no matter if one side is outnumbered.
If you enter an enemys Realm, war is declared and a battle happens. Galleys are useless in land battle, so the odds are Knights to Knights. If you built a Castle in the defending Realm, that significantly alters the odds. Without a Castle, about 5:3 odds are necessary for victory. With a Castle, the odds are altered to about 8:3. Thus allies are crucial to conquer the best Realms! Get people to join your war and you have a greater chance at victory.
All battles are overseen by the moderator and the mods decisions are final.
Galleys can coexist in the same Sea unless war is declared, in which case a battle happens. About 2:1 odds are good enough for victory in the open sea.
If a Realm is captured, all Galleys are either destroyed or retreat to sea, and any Castle is destroyed.
If a player attacks by sea (by jumping with a Galley) that gives him the element of surprise and helps his odds slightly (NOT by a lot!). There is also a chance he can salvage his forces if he loses, by retreating into the sea.
11. FINAL NOTES
Thats about all there is! The NES will start as soon as four or more players join. Feel free to ask questions.
